1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing customized media playback telephony services. In particular, but not exclusively, the invention relates to the provision of prior-to-answer media playback services such as customized ringback tones, engaged tones and other content such as pre-recorded announcements played before a call is answered.
The invention also relates to in-call telephony services, providing customized media playback after a call has been answered, for example customized call holding and call transfer tones.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Prior-to-answer telephony services provide information to a telephony service user before a call is answered. This information may come in the form of a ringback tone, an engaged tone, or a pre-recorded announcement which all serve to indicate to a calling party that the call is being processed. However, the information provided is typically the same to all users of the telephony services. Further, such services do not allow a called party to have any influence on how their individual prior-to-answer telephony services will be presented to calling parties.
International patent application WO A 03/071820 relates to a method and apparatus for providing a sound chosen by a called subscriber instead of ringback tone to a calling subscriber. If a call is received, a terminating exchange requests a trunk connection to a sound database server based on the first information on whether or not to replace a ringback tone and the second information on a route to the sound database server that are received from a home location register (HLR), and provides a called subscriber identification for the sound database server. Then, the sound database server searches its database for a sound specified by the called subscriber, and provides the found sound for the calling subscriber instead of a conventional ringback tone via the terminating exchange connected through a trunk. Through this sequential procedure of network elements, a calling subscriber can hear a sound specified by a called subscriber instead of a standard ringback tone. However, operating a sound database server can be a significant additional cost to the network provider. Further, the selection of ringback tones stored in the sound database server is limited.
International patent application WO A1 03/005686 describes a system for providing personal audio alert messages (PAAM) to a called party and a calling party during a call connection. In response to a call origination by the calling party, a PAAM database may be queried. One or more PAAM strings may be received from a database in response to the query and used to provide PAAM messages to the called and/or calling parties. In the case of prior-to-answer, the system requires specific network-based prior-to-answer apparatus in order to provide PAAM messages back to a calling party.
It would be desirable to provide an improved method and apparatus for providing customized prior-to-answer telephony services.